Reset
by Knife Hand
Summary: Everything in Harry Potter's life is not what it seems – inspired by zerohour20xx's Harry Potter the Game: Epic Edition - Chapter 4 up
1. Chapter 1

Title: Reset

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: All Books, except the epilogue.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: Everything in Harry Potter's life is not what it seems – inspired by zerohour20xx's Harry Potter the Game: Epic Edition

* * *

Ten years. Ten years had passed since the Battle of Hogwarts and the defeat of Voldemort. For the ten years Harry had been, if not happy, at least content. He had married Ginny, worked with Hermione to ensure equal rights for Half-bloods and Muggleborns. Then it had begun again. It had all started with Hermione's death. Then it spread like wildfire, so many dead but with no sign of who was responsible. But now they knew.

"So, are you going to finish it, or are you still a coward and going to let me bleed out?" Harry asked as he lay slumped against the kitchen bench.

"I thought you would like a moment. Perhaps I am wrong." The other man replied.

"Just get on with it." Harry replied. "I can only assume you killed Hermione yourself, Ron."

"Yes." Ron replied. "I got sick of her constant nagging. Ready to die?"

"I've been ready all my life." Harry Replied.

"Avada Kadavra!"

The world faded to black, and then…

**GAME OVER!**

_Game Result: Betrayed_

_Combat Completion: 70%_

_Knowledge Accumulation Completion: 12%_

_Relationship Completion: 7%_

_Romance Completion: 5%_

_Secrets Completion: 2%_

_Social Completion: 1%_

_Popularity Completion: 0%_

_Total Completion: 25%_

_Independence Rating: 1 (slave to authority)_

_Achievements Obtained: Serpent Slayer, TriWizard Victor, Defeated Lord Voldemort (3/39 Achievements Attained)_

Harry looked at the results that glowed in the darkness. He had seen a screen like that before, when Dudley was playing games on the computer, although the percentages were usually very low and the computer was destroyed shortly afterwards.

_New Game? Yes No_

Harry thought over the stats he had seen. He had done well on the combat side of things but had performed miserably at everything else, mostly because he had been solely focused on dealing with Voldemort. Oh he was angry, but if his life was nothing but a game, he may as well have some fun with it.

He reached out and pressed the Yes button.

_Loading new settings….. Would you like to enable in game assistance? Yes No_

Harry thought for a second then smiled and pressed the Yes button.

For the second time the world faded to black.

* * *

Harry woke up in the cupboard under the stairs with a headache. He looked down and saw that he was back in his ten year old body, but he noticed something else. He now had a heads-up display. Overlaid on his vision there were indicators for his health, magical level, compass indicator and a targeting reticule. As he stood up, a pop up icon came up on the lower right side of his vision. As soon as he looked at the icon, it expanded to fill his vision.

_You will gain experience as you progress through the world through the defeat of enemies, improve social, relationship and popularity levels and learn new spells. This experience will periodically translate into Magus points. These Magus points can be used to upgrade your abilities. You will also find Magus Kits in hidden locations. Upgrades can be accessed through the Magus menu._

Harry thought 'Magus Menu' automatically and a menu system filled his vision. In the bottom there was an indicator showing 0 Magus points. There were four categories in the menu system labelled 'Physical', 'Mental', 'Magical' and 'Social'. After quickly browsing through the menu, he mentally closed the menu.

Harry left the cupboard and slipped out the front door, going for a stroll around the streets, trying to clear his head and process what was happening. One thing was for sure, this time around he would have to keep an eye on Ron, the only question was should he keep him close or keep him at a distance.

Harry walked for a long time before he noticed a marker on his compass indicator slightly off to his left. Following the marker he eventually came to a small park.

"Stop it." A familiar voice called out from across the park.

Harry instinctively broke into a run, leaping across a park bench and approaching the small group. There were two girls bullying a third girl, pushing her between them. Harry, running at full speed, crashed into one of the girls, allowing the third girl to stumble away from the other attacker. Harry noticed that the girl he had tackled had been knocked unconscious. _+5 EXP_ scrolled up Harry's vision. Rolling to his feet Harry turned and faced the other girl, slipping into an approximation of a fighting stance he had once seen in a movie.

"You will want to back off." Harry threatened, and the remaining girl ran.

Harry approached the third girl, holding up his hands in deference.

"It's ok." He said. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." The Girl said. "Thank You. My name is Hermione Granger."

"Hello Hermione, my name is Harry Potter." Harry replied.

"Thank you." Hermione said again, giving him a hug.

_Relationship improved: Hermione Granger +1000 relationship points – New status Friend_

_+300 EXP _

_Social Menu now available_

"Let's get you somewhere safe." Harry said.

* * *

The next morning Harry sat in his cupboard, trying to get a hang of the two menus he had unlocked. He was exploring the Social Menu. The basic menu had small icons of Hermione and his relatives, each with a little bar underneath. His relative's status bars were red and extended slightly to the left of the middle while Hermione's bar was green and extended further to the right than his relatives did to the left.

Mentally clicking on the Hermione icon it expanded to fill his vision. In the top left hand quadrant was a headshot of Hermione. The relationship bar was underneath the picture going from Arch-Enemy at the far left, through Acquaintance in the middle to Inseparable Friends at the far right, Hermione's bar having moved out of the Acquaintance section and solidly into the Friend category. To the right of the picture was a basic statistics list, Age, Height, Weight, and other personal details. Only the Age, Height, Weight and Home Address details were filled in, the other details like Birth Date and Favourite Food were recorded as "?". The bottom left of the 'screen' was a blank list titled 'Known Abilities and Contacts', while the bottom right was 'Event History' which contained a brief synopsis of the encounter the night before.

The familiar sound of the post coming through the slot in the door interrupted Harry's exploration and he sighed, exited out of the menu system, stood and collected the mail. He fully searched through the mail, extracting the Hogwarts letter and depositing it in his cupboard, before heading into the kitchen to give his uncle the other letters and take over cooking breakfast.

After breakfast, of which Harry only got a small amount, he returned to his cupboard and read his Hogwarts Letter. There was a note included in the letter that said a Professor would be along in three weeks to take Harry to Diagon Alley to get his school supplies. With that in mind, Harry formulated his plan for the next three weeks. Firstly, get into an exercise routine, because based on his previous experience, and the Combat score, there was going to be a lot of fighting no matter what he did, any fitness helped even with magical abilities. The other thing he planned to do… explore everything. Because there is one thing everyone knows about adventure games… there are always hidden items and information that can prove really useful if you go looking for them.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Reset

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: All Books, except the epilogue.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: Everything in Harry Potter's life is not what it seems – inspired by zerohour20xx's Harry Potter the Game: Epic Edition

* * *

Harry walked into 4 Privet Drive with a smile on his face. For the last two weeks he had been either searching the house or, as he had just been, spending time with Hermione. He had just spent time talking with her, getting to know her without any pressure of homework or anything just learning about each other. He had learnt more about his best friend in those two weeks then he had in his entire other life. He had scored some Exp and social points from the conversations, nowhere need what he had gotten from the first encounter, but he had been much more interested in actually learning about his best friend.

In his exploration of the house he had found a few interesting things, mostly small things of his mother's he had found up in the attic, but he had also found one interesting piece of parchment.

"Where the hell have you been Boy?!" Vernon shouted, shoving Harry into the kitchen, barely missing his Aunt.

The human mind is a very complicated thing, and nothing is more complicated than how it deals with Shock. When an event happens that is just too traumatic to deal with, the mind simply doesn't, it is able to defer that emotion, be it anger or grief or hatred, to a later time. This is what happens when a tragedy occurs and people say 'it hasn't hit me yet'. Sometimes the deferred emotion will strike at a random time, other times it will spring forth at a provocation that, under normal circumstances would not cause a reaction. This second option was the case here. Under normal circumstances Harry would not have reacted to his Uncle's outburst, but his Shock had been broken. Harry had not even realised he was in shock, having experienced so many hard blows in his life, he had thought himself jaded and ready for anything. He was wrong.

"How dare you leave this house you freak!" Vernon yelled.

Harry looked up from the seat he had been pushed into and Vernon stopped mid rant. There was something in Harry's eyes that made Vernon stop. It was not fear, or a red hot rage. It was cold, calculating and Vernon felt a shudder roll down his spine.

"But I'm not the freak, am I Vernon?" Harry replied, malice lacing his voice. "I'm not the one who changed his name to cover his past. Ever heard of a Magical Family Tree? Oh come on, you must have."

Vernon's face went white while Petunia moved to the far corner away from her nephew. His voice may be calm but underneath he was seething with anger and it was palpable.

"Boy…" Vernon began.

"I am speaking." Harry said, calmly, deliberately and authoritatively. "Interesting thing about Magical Family Trees. The tree shows everyone associated with the primary, including all the in-laws and even relations of in-laws, and they are deadly accurate. Isn't that right, Vernon Fudge? My mother had one made up that I found in the attic. Several interesting things on it, wouldn't you say Aunt Petunia. Like that fact that you, Auntie, had a stillborn child with Severus Snape after my mother stopped speaking to him. Or that you, dear Uncle, not only are you and your sister, Marge, Squibs, but that you both murdered your sister Elizabeth during a holiday brake when she was at Hogwarts. I wonder how your Cousin Cornelius would react if he heard about that?"

"What do you want, Bo… Potter?" Vernon said, in fear.

"Simple." Harry replied. "Stay out of my way. I will move into the spare bedroom upstairs, which you will make sure is clean, and it will need a good quality writing desk, a television and a phone. There will be no locks, except on the inside so I can keep you out, and no bars. I will be free to come and go as I please, I will need a key to the house. I will cook for myself, and only myself. You will refer to me as Potter, not Boy or Freak or any other derogatory term. In about one week a Professor from Hogwarts will show up, and yes I will be attending Hogwarts, and you will not complain or call anyone names, in fact you will be very polite. If anyone asks then I am going to an exclusive Boarding School. I think that is all for the time being."

"W-W-What…" Petunia began.

"What will happen if you don't?" Harry retorted. "You really don't want to know."

_Independence Improvement: +500 Independence Points_

_+300 EXP_

_Magus Points +1 – You have 1 Magus Point_

_Independence Level raised to level 2 _

_+ 300 EXP_

_Privet Drive Freedom Achievement Obtained _

_+ 500 EXP_

_Relationship Improvement: Petunia Dursley + 50 relationship points_

_+10 EXP_

_Relationship Degradation: Vernon Dursley (Enemy) - 50 relationship points_

_+10 EXP_

_Secret Revealed: + 20 secret points_

_+30 EXP_

_Magus Points +1 – You have 2 Magus Points_

Harry stood up and walked out of the kitchen.

* * *

Harry was walking through the park close to Privet Drive, wanting to be alone. He had spent a couple of hours calming down before he did damage to something that he would later regret. At least he had managed to grieve for Hermione in the other timeline so he was not grieving for her on top of everything else.

Sighing he sat down on a bench and opened up the Magus menu. He had just browsed it briefly before, but this time he had 2 Magus Points. Out of curiosity, Harry opened the Magical menu first but all the options were greyed out and a message popped up

_Magical upgrades are unavailable until Wand had been obtained and at least one spell has been learnt._

He backed out of the Magical Menu and went into the Mental menu. There were two items in the menu that were not greyed out. One was 'Eidetic' – _Spells and books are memorised at an improved rate_ for one Magus Point. The other was 'Aura Vision' – _All magical books and items which provide critical information will glow (ability disabled in Flourish and Blot's Bookstore and The Hogwarts Library)_ for one Magus Point.

In the Social Menu there were also two items that were now available. The First was 'Profiling' – _the ability to use subtle variations in posture, blood distension in the veins and pheromones to read and influence people in social situations_ for two Magus Points. The other ability was 'Silver Tongue' – _all Social, Relationship, Romance and Popularity adjustments increased by 5% (1 of 3)_ for 1 Magus point per level.

The Physical Menu had 'Cardio Pulmonary Boost' and 'Aim Improvement' unlocked. Cardio Boost was _Improvement to the cardio vascular and Pulmonary systems increase endurance by 10%, and reduces the absorption of toxic gases though the lungs by 20% (1 of 2)_ was for 2 magus points for the first level and 1 for the second. Aim Improvement was recorded as _Increases hand eye co-ordination making aiming more accurate and giving the ability to quick fire spells and weapons 'from the hip'_ for 1 Magus point.

There were a number of items in each of the menus that were still greyed out. Harry sat down and considered the options available. Cardio Pulmonary Boost looked advantageous, but it would cost him both his Magus points and he would not get any benefit from it in the short term, but defiantly one to consider once he got into Quidditch. Aim Improvement and Eidetic were also not going to provide any immediate benefit, but would be very useful one he began learning spells.

After long consideration, and recalling his score from the previous play through, Harry in the end chose the Profiling upgrade. This time through he really needed help with social situations, and he could not afford to do this alone, or only with Hermione's help.

* * *

Harry answered the knock on the door because he was in the living room watching TV while his… relatives were out.

"Mister Potter?" The woman at the door, clearly a Witch, asked.

Harry was mildly surprised when new features appeared on his heads up display. _Profiling mode engaged_, appeared in the centre of his field of vision briefly before disappearing. In the upper left hand corner there was now a 'window' labelled influence with a dotted line running across the middle and the background was yellow. To the right of his field of view, just inside the Magic bar was another window, the top of which looked like an ever changing bar graph while the bottom gave mostly indecipherable, to Harry at least, information such as 'pheromone level' and 'BPM', but at the very bottom was a line that read 'Status: Calm'.

As had happened before, a message icon appeared on the lower right of his vision and expanded when he looked at it.

"Yes." Harry replied as he began to read the overlaid message.

_Profiling mode has been engaged for the first time. The Profiling mode will automatically be engaged whenever you have an encounter with individuals where the outcome of the encounter can have significant consequences beyond the encounter itself. The gauge to the right of your screen shows the person's current mood, while the tracker in the top left tracks changes in the positive or negative immediate impact from the encounter. Green shows that the person will have a positive reaction to the encounter, yellow means no significant impact is made, and red means a negative impact from the encounter (note it is only the final impact level that affects the outcome, so you have a chance to recover from any mistakes). _

_Profiling mode can be exited out of at any time by using the 'dismiss' command or activated by using the 'profile' command._

"My name is Professor Vector. I am here to take you to get your school supplies." The Witch said.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Professor. I am so eager to begin learning. What subject do you teach?" Harry said, politely.

His lips twitched ever so slightly as he saw the dotted influence line go up a little. It was still yellow but closer to the green.

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Reset

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: All Books, except the epilogue.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: Everything in Harry Potter's life is not what it seems – inspired by zerohour20xx's Harry Potter the Game: Epic Edition.

* * *

"And there is nothing else I need to see?" Harry asked the goblin, putting the letter in his pocket.

"No, not at this time." The Goblin replied.

Harry nodded, said his farewells and left Gringotts, meeting Professor Vector outside. Harry and the Professor chatted about Hogwarts and her subject, Arithmancy, as they wandered Diagon Alley shopping for Harry's supplies. Harry had become accustomed to the scrolling text on his visual overlay, whenever conversational experience or Social Points were awarded, and even the targeting reticule's habit of locking on to people for a second or two as they passed. Soon all of Harry's supplies had been bought, including Hedwig, which to Harry's surprise got her own entry in the Social window, with her own pet version social bar ranging from Hated Pet to Familiar.

Somewhere in the shopping she had started calling him Harry instead of Mister Potter, as the influence gauge had risen high into the green section and the Social points had accumulated, as had Harry's personal respect.

"So what is next, Professor?" Harry asked as they emerged from the Owl Emporium.

"I see no need to be overly formal, Harry." The Professor said. "You are not my student yet, so in private please feel free to call me Septima. And if you need anything at Hogwarts, even just someone to listen to, my door will be always open. But for now, we need to get you a Wand."

They started down the alley towards Ollivander's when they were interrupted by a shout.

"Harry!" the brown haired missile said, as she crashed into Harry and gave him a huge hug.

"Hello Hermione." He said, grinning at Professor Vector as another Witch, this one with dark skin, approached.

"Professor Sinistra." Vector said.

"Professor Vector." The dark skinned Witch replied. "I see Miss Granger has found a friend."

Hermione took a step back from Harry, her cheeks flushing red. Harry looked at Hermione, with Profiling mode still active, and all the stats changed. He noticed the Status indicator on the right of his vision for Hermione showed Embarrassed/Infatuated, while the dotted influence line had reset to neutral. His eyes flicked back to Professor Vector's and the Profiling data switched back to the older Witch's data, including the green influence indicator, but her status now read Amused.

"How has your trip been?" Vector asked.

"Fine." Sinistra responded. "Once I was able to pull Miss Granger here out of the bookstore. We have a budding Ravenclaw on our hands with her. All we have left is Miss Grangers Wand."

"I am taking Mister Potter to get his now. I would be more than happy to accompany Miss Granger as well." Vector said.

"Very well." Sinistra replied. "Miss Granger, Mister Potter. I shall see you at Hogwarts."

With that the dark skinned Witch turned and walked away.

"Did I do something wrong?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Of course not, dear." Vector replied. "It's just Aurora, I mean Professor Sinistra, has a date tonight and I thought she would appreciate some extra time to get ready."

Septima chuckled at the wide eyed expression of the two children.

"Professors have personal lives too, you know." She commented. "Now let's get your Wands."

The trio entered Ollivander's and as happened the last time, the Wandmaker started his creepy talk, to which Harry payed no mind. Harry went first in the wand selection and was surprised when he picked up the first wand that a new window opened across his vision listing the stats of the wand.

Wood: Oak. Core: Dragon Heartstring. Length: 9 ¾ inches. Tensile Strength: Flexible. Discipline preference: Charms. Compatibility: 4.3%. Other status: N/A.

Harry waved it as he had been instructed and nothing happened. The Wand Maker kept passing incompatible Wands to Harry until he came to the Holly Wand.

Wood: Holly. Core: Phoenix Tail feather. Length: 11 inches. Tensile Strength: Supple. Discipline preference: None. Compatibility: 69%. Other status: Forced Reaction (Harry Potter).

When he touched the Wand it glowed.

"Well, there we are Mister Potter." Ollivander said.

"Wait one second." Harry said. "Are you telling me that you just go along trying wands until one of them gives a favourable reaction and then that is it? That's the Wand you sell?"

"Of course Mister Potter. How else would we do it?" Ollivander said, confused.

"So what happens if, in the hundreds of Wands you have here, there is another Wand that would suit me better? Am I to go through my entire education with a substandard Wand because you simply palm off the first remotely sympathetic Wand to me?" Harry growled.

"Mister Potter." Professor Vector began, only to be interrupted by Hermione.

"He's right, Professor. This is an unacceptable system, which leave to future abilities of a young Witch or Wizard entirely to chance. I, as I am sure Harry will as well, will be trying every single Wand in this shop to find the one that _**I **_feel is best suited to myself, not what Mister Ollivander thinks I should have based on some undefined reaction." Hermione said, putting scorn into the 'Mister Ollivander'.

Two and a Half hours later Harry and Hermione left the Wand Maker's shop, leaving behind a Susan Bones and her Aunt who, after hearing Harry and Hermione's argument, also insisted that Susan be allowed to try every wand in the shop.

Hermione's wand was a springy, 9 inch long Wand made of Red Cherry, with the tail fur of the legendary Kitsune, the Japanese nine tailed Fox. Harry's new wand was Hazel, with the tail spine of a Manticore, measuring 10 inches long and of solid tensile strength, scoring a 99% compatibility rating on his data sheet. There was a second Wand also that beat the Holly wand with an 89% compatibility rating. It was an 8 inch Nallwood Wand with core being the fur of the Australian Dropbear.

Harry and Hermione were laughing when Professor Vector side-along apperated them back to Surry, where they dropped Hermione off at her house before walking back to Number 4.

"Thank you, Professor." Harry said, before getting a look. "Septima."

"It was my pleasure, Harry. And remember, my door at Hogwarts is always open." The Professor said before Apperating away.

'Nuts.' Harry thought to himself as he walked inside. '15 exp points from my next Magus level.'

* * *

In a small, out of the way office in the Ministry of Magic, a Muggleborn Wizard called Marcus Halliwell sat sorting through the few items in his in-tray. Very few people know about Marcus' role, only the Minister and certain Key Department Heads. Marcus was the sole member in what is referred to as D24. There are only two requirements to be the D24 officer. One was complete discretion. The other was being a Muggleborn. In fact D24 was the only job that Purebloods were banned from in the entire Ministry, not that they even knew the job existed.

Officially it was Department 24 of the British Government, the Department that all other Departments send reports to when certain guidelines are met, along with regular monthly reports. In essence it was a one way, postal link for the British Muggle Government to inform the Ministry of Magic when any suspected cases of Magic are observed and general reports so the D.M.L.E. can track subtle trends that may indicate Magical interference in the Muggle World.

After fifteen years in the job, Marcus had the routine down pat. Collect the mail from the PO Box, take it to his office, sort the mail, distribute to the relevant Department Heads and in some cases sent signed transmittal forms back to indicate receipt of the document. In all those years, he had never received any mail that was not from a Muggle Government Department. Today, August 27th 1991, a date that would stay with Marcus until he died, that changed. Marcus read the letter five times, took of his glasses, cleaned them and then read it again. After that, he wrote three interdepartmental memos, requesting an urgent meeting. One to the Minister, one to Amelia Bones, Head of D.M.L.E. and one to the Head of the Unspeakables. If this letter was true, it would need to go all the way to the top. One question ran through Marcus' mind as he gathered up the letter, a few notes and his coffee to head to the meeting.

'How did the sender know the D24 PO Box address?'

* * *

Harry smiled to himself as he glanced up over his book at the three girls sitting on the bench opposite him in the train carriage. The two Indian girls were obviously twins, one with her nose buried in a book and the other chatting insistently with the blond girl who had entered with them. Harry idly wondered how long it would take them to notice him, given the fact that they had entered the carriage ten minutes ago. His musing was interrupted by the carriage door sliding open and Hermione walking in.

"Harry. There you are." She declared before dropping into the seat next to him.

"When the hell did you come in?" the chatty twin asked.

"Before you did." Harry replied, before turning to Hermione. "How was the rest of your holiday? Read all the school books yet?"

"Of course." Hermione replied with a small huff.

Now he was a bookworm like her, to a certain extent, and the banter was just something that had naturally developed in their time together.

"Did you know you are in at least five 'history' books published in the last ten years, including one of our course books?" she asked, making finger quotes when she said History.

"I'm not surprised." Harry replied. "Anything interesting?"

"Let's see. Fought off several rouge Centaurs; stopped a Vampire Coven from taking over Wales; foiled two assassination attempts, one on the Minister and one on the Head of the D.M.L.E.; negotiated a treaty between two waring Clans in Europe and prevented an international Dropbear invasion." Hermione recited.

"So… complete bollocks then?" he said

"Pretty much." She responded. "So what are those three doing in our compartment?"

"Don't look at me. They just walked in and sat down. I would say it was my natural animal magnetism but they didn't even notice me till you arrived." Harry replied with a shrug.

"What animal magnetism?" Hermione teased, giving him a light punch on the shoulder. "Anyway, wake me when we get close."

He just nodded as she casually curled up at his side and put her head on his shoulder, in an innocent gesture of trust. Hermione had been a lot more relaxed this time around, a benefit of their friendship, which gave her confidence that someone wanted her for more than someone to copy off in class and that someone was willing to look out for her as a person.

"Stay or go, your choice, but can someone please lock the door. She needs her sleep or she'll be cranky." Harry said. "Ouch."

A smile flickered across Hermione's lips, even though her eyes were still closed, at his bland response to her punch. With a wiry smile, the twin with the book, who was sitting closet to the door, reached out and locked it. Harry nodded his thanks and the both went back to their books.

TBC….


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Reset

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: All Books, except the epilogue.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: Everything in Harry Potter's life is not what it seems – inspired by zerohour20xx's Harry Potter the Game: Epic Edition.

* * *

"So, the rumours are true. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." Draco said as they stood in the waiting room just outside the Great Hall.

"Congratulations, Cousin. You can count to eleven." Harry replied.

"You're Harry Potter?" Ron asked.

"Cousin?" Draco said at the same time.

"No, I'm a Belgian Waffle." Harry said to Ron over his shoulder before responding to Draco. "I thought Purebloods were all about bloodlines."

"What Waffles?" Ron asked, confused.

"I know my bloodline back seventeen generations." Draco said arrogantly.

"Honestly?" Hermione said to Ron. "It's called sarcasm."

"Dorea Potter Nee Black." Harry said to Draco. "Hermione, don't engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed man."

"I have my Wand." Ron said, holding it up.

Harry, Hermione and Padma all chuckled at the redhead while Draco look contemplative and most of the rest of the first years looked confused at the four way conversation.

_Relationship Improvement: Draco Malfoy +10 Relationship Points_

_+5 EXP_

_Relationship Improvement: Hermione Granger + 10 Relationship Points_

_+5 EXP_

_Relationship Degradation: Ronald Weasley (Enemy) – 20 Relationship Points_

_+10 EXP_

_Magus Points +1 – You have 1 Magus Point_

_Relationship Improvement: Padma Patil +5 Relationship Points_

_+2 EXP_

"Follow me." Professor McGonagall said, emerging from the Great Hall before turning and leading them back into the Hall. Harry watched at the Sorting Hat's song and the sortings before him which went exactly as he remembered, with one exception, Hermione got placed in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor. When Harry's name was called silence descended over the hall as he made his way to the front. He was not the malnourished, overawed and abused boy he had been last time around, he was confident, fit and in control.

'Interesting.' The Hat said into his mind. 'I can see great things from you. You could be great in either Slytherin or Gryffindor.'

'Yeah, the only difference would be the body count.' Harry replied.

'Body Count?' the Hat said, confused.

'Put me in Slytherin and I would kill most of the Pureblood assholes.' Harry replied 'Greatness through attrition. In Gryffindor I would only kill some of them, four or five spring instantly to mind, and then the rest would bow to me. Trail by combat. I need to make contacts and learn all I can in order to survive.'

'True.' The Hat said, considering his words. 'While most of the Slytherins, and lets face it, several of the Gryffindors probably deserve what you would no doubt do, I agree that a killing spree is probably not going to win you any points with your peers, or the Ministry. There is only one place I can really put you then.'

"Ravenclaw!" the Hat announced to a stunned Great Hall.

Everyone was in shock, except Hermione and Padma who started cheering from the Ravenclaw table, joined shortly by the rest of the House. As Harry walked to the Ravenclaw table he got a smile from Professor Vector and heard Professor Flitwick, the Ravenclaw Head of House celebrating quietly. Professor Dumbledore looked dismayed, Professor McGonagall looked disappointed, the Gryffindors looked confused and most of the Slytherins seemed scornful him for being placed with the Claws. Harry sat down between Hermione and Padma, the latter had move down the table to make a space for him and they waited for the feast to begin.

"Sounds like a set up." Hermione said when Dumbledore mentioned the Third Floor corridor being off limits on pain of death.

"Probably for some brave but stupid Gryffindor." Padma added.

"Or me." Harry chipped in. "Bit of an odd coincidence and all. Plus did you see Professor Dumbledore's face when I was sorted into Ravenclaw?"

* * *

Harry woke up in his new dorm room, stretching under the covers. He, like all Ravenclaws, had his own room with a study desk. Hedwig sat on a perch by the window, hooting sleepily.

"Morning girl." Harry said sleepily.

There was a banging on the door.

"Harry. Come on. Breakfast." Hermione's voice cam through the door.

"Coming." Harry replied. "Just give me a minute to get dressed."

When he heard two girls giggling, Harry groaned. His bet it was Hermione and Padma giggling.

"We'll see you down there." Hermione called.

Harry quickly got up, got dressed and made his way down to the Great Hall. He slid into place between Hermione and Padma, before glancing at them. Both of them stated to giggle again.

"No giggling." He said which only made them giggle harder.

The morning Owl Post came sweeping in, and a brown barn owl dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of his plate. When he saw the headline, Harry smiled.

**20 Year old Murder Case Closed**

Yesterday, in an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot, the twenty year old unsolved murder of Elizabeth Fudge, age 14 at the time of her death and cousin of the current Minister Cornelius Fudge. Thanks to an anonymous tip, it was discovered that the perpetrators of the murder, Vernon and Margate Fudge (Elizabeth's brother and sister and both Squibs) were hiding out in the Muggle World. The tip, which led the Aurors to the fugitive's houses, informed the Ministry that they had changed their surname to Dursley and provided their location. After only forty minutes of deliberation, the accused were both found Guilty and were executed by being passed through the Veil of Death. After the trial, both the Minister and the Head of the D.M.L.E., Madam Amelia Bones, announced the formation of a two new division of the D.M.L.E. The first new division is called the 'Cold Case Auror Squad', which is responsible for reviewing new evidence and leads of old cases. The second new department, which is yet to be named, will have the responsibility for the interaction and liaison with the Muggle Law Enforcement in order to track Magical criminals who flee into the Muggle World.

_Enemy Defeated: Vernon Dursley_

_+1000 EXP_

_Magus Points +1 – You have 2 Magus Points_

"Harry. Have you read this?" Hermione asked, excitedly.

"I guess it is one way to get the Purebloods to be more progressive in dealing with Muggles is to make it seem in their best interests." Harry replied.

Professor Flitwick came past, handing out their class schedules and showing that their first lesson was Charms with the Hufflepuffs, followed by Potions, again with the Hufflepuffs. Harry, Hermione and Padma ate their breakfast while theorising what their classes would be like. Just as they were finished their breakfasts, Professor Vector came pass.

"Mister Potter, a word if you please." The Professor said.

"You two, go ahead." Harry said. "Yes, Professor."

"Walk with me, Mister Potter." Vector said.

"Of course, Professor." Harry replied.

They walked out of the Great Hall and into a deserted hallway.

"Was it you, Harry?" Vector asked.

"I assume you are talking about this morning's paper, Septima." Harry replied.

"Yes. I do some background checks on all of the new students I escort to Diagon Alley, so I know what the name Dursley means." She said.

"So, Septima, you are asking if I sent the anonymous tip?" Harry asked. "If I said no, would you believe me, if I said yes then why would it have been sent anonymously?"

"Very smart, Harry." Vector said as they approached a corner. "Here is your classroom, Mister Potter."

"Thank you, Professor Vector." He replied.

Entering the class, he sat next to Padma, as Hermione was sitting and chatting with the Hufflepuff Susan Bones.

* * *

Harry, Hermione, Padma, Susan and Hannah, Susan's friend, walked into the Potions classroom. Harry sat at a bench with Hermione at the front of the classroom. When everyone was seated, Professor Snape swept into the room and gave his usual speech, then began the roll.

"Ahh, Mister Potter. Our new celebrity." Snape began.

"Before you start, Professor, I have just one thing to say." Harry said. "August 21st, 1976."

"See me after class, Mister Potter." Snape said, before writing instructions on the board.

The potion class proceeded without incident and all the students except Harry filed out.

"How do you know about that?" Snape asked, his anger waring with fear.

"Magical Family Tree." Harry replied, and saw understanding on Snape's face. "I'm sorry. The name on the Death Certificate was Jasmine Evans Snape. Stillborn."

Snape's face collapsed into grief and shame. Harry silently stood and left.

TBC…


End file.
